In which Lily Evans is Distracted
by purple pear 87
Summary: Lily Evans was Distracted- and there wasn't even a justifiable cause. Well, James Potter had to do something about that. Includes- Frightened!McGonagall, angry!Lily, clueless!James, and hungry!Peter. Cute fluffy Oneshot. JP/LE


**Hi everyone! This is just a one-shot that I thought of randomly while I was writing my monstrosity of my other story. Please, enjoy and review!**

Lily Evans Is Distracted

Lily Evans was Distracted. James hadn't seen her like this since Fourth Year, when she'd gotten the news that her parents had been murdered- but this time there didn't seem to be a justifiable cause. There was no crying, no hollow-eyed looks or absence of spirit. In fact, the only thing she was doing was staring off into space. More like glowering, James decided, tilting his head slightly to examine her closer. In a few minutes, she might even work herself into A State. And Lily Evans in A State was not a pretty thing. People tended to run away screaming in terror, or throw themselves at her feet and beg for mercy.

Being Distracted in McGonagall's classroom probably wasn't the best place, James decided, watching the professor rant at a terrified girl who'd dared to say the wrong answer. There was a fifty-percent potential for detention. Ninety-percent, if you were distracted and your name happened to be James Potter. He was really only distracted a few times before- and who could blame him? That had been when Lily had gotten a fetching haircut, and he'd spent the entire class watching her red hair sparkle copper and gold in the candlelight.

"Miss Evans!" James roused himself from his contemplations at the sound of his love's name, and winced along with the rest of the class. Lily was a long way off. Her chin was propped on her hand, her usually neat hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, her green eyes unfocused.

"Miss Evans, I repeat, what is the purpose to which the _Abducto _spell might be used?"

And then James' jaw dropped about a foot- Lily had come round and was giving McGonagall one of her patented Death Glares. James had been on the receiving end it only once before- and once was far more than enough. He could practically see the steam rising from the hole she was boring into McGonagall's head. If anything, he pitied the professor.

"Er. . ." McGonagall quailed under the Glare, looking actually frightened. "I'll just let you. . . um. . . class is dismissed!"

James glanced down at his watch- it was ten minutes to the time they should be leaving. Good lord, Lily definitely had some power. They usually left ten minutes after the class _ended_.

"Professor?" Remus was asking from his front-row seat, looking concerned. "We still have ten minutes. . ."

_Shut up_, James telepathically advised Remus. _Shut up, or she'll reconsider._

"Class dismissed!" McGonagall repeated, attempting to be her usual brusque self, but looking rather weak, her face paler than usual. She hurried out the classroom door, like a rabbit fleeing a hungry wolf. James, hardly daring to believe his luck, got to his feet and began packing his bag. Sirius, at the seat next to him, crowed gleefully as he sprang to his seat.

"Ten minutes!" He clapped James on the shoulder, harder than necessary. "Coming to lunch? I think Peter's hungry enough to eat his own arm."

"I think I'll catch up with you there," James said, glancing towards Lily, who had remained motionless in her seat, and then at Peter, who was eying the appendage in question with a hungry look. "I've got to do. . . something." Sirius shrugged, and he and Remus and Peter left the classroom with the rest of the students, leaving James quite, quite alone with Lily. He walked up behind her- she seemed lost in space.

"All right, Evans?" The moment he said it, he winced- how had his voice managed to come out so loud and jaunty-sounding?

She jumped half a foot off her seat, spun around to see who was there, and succeeded in toppling off her chair and bringing it crashing to the floor with her. He couldn't help it, and burst into laughter, which echoed around the empty room. Her green eyes narrowed into slits, and he stopped abruptly, nearly tripping over his own tongue.

"What do you want?" She asked waspishly, getting to her feet and wincing.

_You._

"You seemed distracted." That was one hell of an understatement. "Is something wrong?"

She sighed. "Yes. Many things are wrong. So deeply wrong." She didn't elaborate.

"Okay. . ." He was confused, to put it the least. Bewildered. Bemused. Befuddled. Be-

"Hey! Are those new earrings?"

She stopped. And blinked. Twice. "What?"

He gestured towards her earlobes, and the tiny golden lilies that hung from them. Her hand flew up absently to touch them tentatively, as though not remembering putting them on. "Oh. Yes."

"I like them." He decided. She still had the expression of being walloped on the back of the head with a Bludger- he knew first hand what that expression looked like. Then her eyes narrowed again.

"This is exactly why!"

Now it was James' turn to blink. "Did I say something-"

"You!" She advanced on him, eyes blazing like coals. It was rather like trying to stare down an avenging angel. "I don't know what to make of you. One day you're behaving like a sodding three-year-old, the next, you're a model Head Boy! One moment you're stalking me, then you hardly speak to me! You're cruel and horrible to Snape, but you'll help a first-year repair her kite, and let me cry on you when I'm sad."

It occurred to him, absently, that Lily was most definitely working herself into A State. This was bad. He had to backtrack. "Er. . . sorry?"

"And now you're apologizing?" She screeched, her voice going up into an octave that only dogs would be able to hear, red hair dancing behind her like flames. She made an exasperated noise, almost like a growl. It was actually cute. "Stop confusing me! I don't know what to think?"

"What to think about what?"

"About _you_! About whether I should hate you or not! About-" her voice trailed off, and she lowered her long eyelashes and blushed prettily as she whispered, "whether I can stop loving you."

His heart stuttered. He took a step forward. "You mean, you were Distracted, over me?" She nodded tentatively. "You got into A State, over _me?_" She nodded again, and, when she raised her eyes to his, there was hope there. "You silly girl," he said affectionately, reaching out a hand to trail over her soft cheek, enjoying the pink flush it brought. "You must know that I've always loved you, too."

He could have sworn she'd muttered something that sounded like, "_that was the problem_," but he didn't bother thinking about it as he leaned over and pressed his mouth against hers to shut her up. It was warm, awkward, and, when she shifted her lips and gave a little sigh into his mouth- utterly electric. He cheerfully resigned himself to bliss.

A Distracted Lily Evans, he decided, might have it's perks after all.

**Review?**


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